Lost in Between
by Crimson Dragongem
Summary: Harry's parents weren't killed on halloween, but there's also another twist Harry's younger brother, Silas, is thought to be the BWL. What will this mean for the wizarding world?
1. Chapter 1

Hey there again. Yes, this is another story, although, like my others, it probably won't be continuec. However, if you think it's interesting enough and want me to continue writing it, or my other stories, please review, because I appreciate any advice I can get. Anyways, here's the story.

Chapter 1

Lily Evans-Potter looked down at her two little boys lovingly. Harry, the older of the two, was sitting on the edge of the bed staring in fascination at his smaller brother'stiny red-faced brother. Curiously, he reached out to touch the tiny thing in his mother's arms. To his surprise, it moved, making him fall backwards onto the bed with a thump, causing him to cry out in surprise.

"Come here, honey" Lily said laughingly as she wrapped her other arm around her one year old son. "This is your new baby brother, Silas Evan Potter. I want you to take good care of him, ok?You're a bigbrother now, which means that you have to keep him out of trouble." Lilysaid softly and ruffled the little boy's wild black hair.

Suddenly the door of the hospital room burst open and Lily's exuberant husband, James Potter, came bounding in. He swept over to the bed, put an arm around Lily's shoulder and planted a kiss on her head.

"Where are my little boys?" he asked, tickling Harry's stomach, making him squeal in delight. James then turned his attention to his newest son. Smiling, he stared lovingly at the small face. Lily touched his shoulder to get his attention.

"James, would you like to hold him?"

James looked startled, but agreed. Soon he was cooing to the sleeping face of his newest son. Suddenly, he looked up at his wife.

"Our kids are going to be great wizards some day, Lily, and the only way to make sure of that is that we give them lots of love and care. We can't let either of them feel unloved, because we will be the best parents ever."

Lily couldn't help but smile at her husband's loud declaration. "Of course we shall." She said with a delighted laugh at James' antics. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" She asked, frowning slightly. James shrugged and wandered over to the door and opened it, going out into the hallway.

"Hey there, Prongs old pal, how's Lily and your two little bundles of joy? I wanna see the new one you've been boasting about." Lily grinned as she recognized Sirius' voice coming from the hallway.

"Padfoot, you're making a scene, hurry up and get in the room." This time it was the voice of Remus.

James grinned at his two best friends. "Well, then come on in, Lily's been waiting for you guys to show up for _ages_." Laughing, the three of them entered the room and gathered around Lily and the boys. James looked around, noticed that Peter wasn't there, and frowned. "Hey, wait a second, where's Peter?" He asked, wondering where their secret keeper had gotten to.

Sirius shrugged. "He said that something came up and that he couldn't come to see the kids 'till next week."

James thought this over for a second. "I guess that's alright. We'll just have to have the welcome party later."

Remus sat down on the side of the bed, and decided that Harry needed some tickling. Giggling, the little toddler tried to swat his favorite uncle's hand away, with no success. Laughing, Remus ruffled Harry's hair.

"Cut it out you two, you'll wake Silas" Lily scolded. A second later, the both Remus and Harry were as calm as if it had never happened. Lily laughed quietly at their antics.

"Moony, you're supposed to be the mature one that keeps my kids from becoming little terrors because of our influence, and here you are setting that kind of example?" James asked, pretending to be appalled. "Out with you. Out," He said, trying to push Remus out the door. Unfortunately, James accidentally looked into Harry's big brown eyes, and couldn't resist the pathetic cuteness that only babies possess, and relented. Both Remus and James fell to the floor laughing, and Sirius, who was laughing the whole time, just laughed harder.

Suddenly, baby Silas gurgled in his sleep and moved slightly, causing everyone to go quiet for a second to look at the newest Potter. Harry just blinked and leaned closer to get a better look at his little brother. "Sma'" he mumbled, looking intently at the sleeping baby.

"What's that, Harry dear?" Lily asked, surprised.

"Sma'" Harry repeated, more confidently this time. Lily stared at Harry, torn between being proud or surprised. James apparently had no such problem, for he immediately picked Harry up and swung him around delightedly.

"That's his first word," Lily mumbled, still half in shock at what her little boy had just said, "His first word ever."

Sirius grinned at Remus who was watching the happy scene quietly. "You know what this means?" Remus blinked.

"No. What does it mean?"

"It means, dear moony, that we get to have a party anyways!" Sirius exclaimed, bouncing up and down happily. Remus just smiled, watching the family interact happily. Unfortunately, there would be very few of these happy moments in the near future.

At that very moment, somewhere, in another part of the country, a little rat was betraying its closest friends.

………………………………………………………………………………………...

"Lily, he's here! Take the kids and go" James yelled to Lily as the front door was blasted away.

"No, James, I won't leave you!" She returned defiantly

"Go Lily, I'll hold him off. I promise you, I'll come back! Just go, dammit!" Lily hesitated for only a second longer, but seeing the determination in her husband's eyes, she nodded and ran up the stairs, not even turning back when she heard a scream and then a cold, cackling laughter. She heard a few spells being exchanged, and then a body falling to the ground with a thud.

Frantically, she ran into the nursery, hoping beyond hope that she and her babies could escape. She had just finished packing up the bags when the door swung open, revealing Voldemort, the dark lord himself. He raised his wand and pointed it at Harry's forehead. Terrified for her child's life, Lily flung herself in front of her baby. Voldemort glared at her for her defiance.

"Move aside you silly girl, and I may spare your life." He said coldly.

"No. Not Harry. Take me instead. Please, I beg you. Kill me instead." She knew it was pointless to plead with Voldemort, but she had to try. She would give anything so that her babies could live.

Voldemort laughed coldly. "It would appear that you have made your choice. Avada Kedavra." He smiled cruelly as a jet of green light emerged from the wand, and hit the ceiling, making it collapse upon the unsuspecting woman, knocking her unconscious.

"If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you without offering you your life." He informed the unconscious mother, before turning his attention to the one year old boy in front of him. In the cot next to Harry lay Silas. Smirking, the self-proclaimed dark lord raised his wand once more and cast the killing curse on the young boy, sending a blast of green light at the small brown eyed child.

The beam hit the child, and deflected somehow, causing it to rebound onto its caster, banishing him from his body. Unfortunately, the magical backlash caused the roof and most of the house to collapse, one piece falling onto Silas, causing a large jagged scar to run across his forehead, but other than that, he was unharmed. Harry on the other hand, was blown across the room and into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

The dark lord, though, had been prepared in case an incident such as this was to happen. He had created a collar that allowed him to control a werewolf, and he had given it strict orders that if he were to fail in his attempt, he was to bite the child the spell was aimed at.

Slowly, the large wolf wandered into the room, sniffing around curiously. Soon his gaze rested upon the child that lay on the floor. On the child's forearm was what looked like a small tattoo, shaped like a running wolf. Somehow the werewolf new that this was the child, and he slowly moved forward and wrapped its jaws around the small boy's arm. Carefully, it bit down, puncturing just around the mark. Once it removed its jaws, it lay down beside the newly turned werewolf.

Suddenly, there was a sound of approaching footsteps, waking the werewolf. In a panic, it jumped out the window and ran as fast as it could to the nearest forest, on the side of town. A lone figure ran into the room. Seeing the prone form of Lily on the ground, he ran to her side and crouched down.

"Lily, Lily, answer me." When she didn't respond, he checked her pulse. Sighing with relief, he stood up and went to the door. "I found Lily. She's alive, but she's unconscious and I suspect she may have a concussion," he called to his companions. "Good job, Black, now see if the children are ok."

"Yes Sir." Sirius answered and went back into the room. He saw Silas lying in his cot, sleeping fitfully, and then he frowned, unable to see Harry. It took him a little while to locate Harry, but when he did, he was relieved. He picked up his best friend's oldest child and placed him in the cot next to Silas.

"Sirius, are the children alright?" Sirius whirled around and sighed in relief when he saw that it was just Dumbledore.

"Yes, but Silas has a large gash on his forehead."

Dumbledore nodded and went over to inspect the wound himself. He also noticed the robes of lord Voldemort lying in the wreckage. He frowned and turned his attention to the small baby in front of him. "It is as I suspected. Voldemort tried to kill Silas. But Silas' power was so great and so good, that it rebounded off him and rebounded to its owner, causing Voldemort's spirit to flee his body. I suspect that the magical backlash caused Harry to be thrown across the room." He picked up Silas and carried him downstairs. Sirius hastily picked up Harry and followed.

Once the medical team had rescued James and Lily from the wreckage and had taken them to saint Mungo's, Dumbledore turned around to face the aurors who were still milling around. "My friends, I now present you, Silas Potter. Saviour of the wizarding world!" This announcement was met by cheers, and while everyone was doting over Silas, nobody noticed the strange mark on Harry's forearm, or the perfect circle of puncture marks that surrounded it… all except for his favorite uncle, that is. Needless to say, the fate of the two young brothers was dramatically changed that day. In another universe, a tall, horse-faced, woman opened her front door and screamed.

...End Chappie ...

AN: Ok, I don't want to give too much of the plot line away, but I'm going to say this - Harry is going to be sorted into Gryffindor. I hope I get lot of advice from readers, and I assure you, this is not going to be like any of the other 'Harry's brother is thought to be the BWL' stories. I'm hoping to make this very unique, but if you see anything that looks like something from one of those other stories, please tell me so I can go change it. anyways, I'm hoping that you'll all go over and look at my other stories, especially the one called 'Shrouded Eyes' which is a Naruto fanfic. Anyways, if I don't get enough reviews, then this will probably stay a one-shot.

Cheers

-Crimson Dragongem


	2. Chapter 2

Whoa, chapter two? I didn't think I was going to keep writing this story! shakes head in amasement The things you do when you're bored...

LostChapter 2

It was a cold December afternoon, and the Potter household was bustling with activity. It was two weeks until Christmas, but that wasn't what excited everyone. No, the bustling about was because it was Silas Potter's fifth birthday.

Six year old Harry wandered about the house, trying to stay out of everyone's way as they set up for his brother's party. He didn't see what was so important about this day in particular, he just knew that it wasn't fair, and that he never got a party on his birthday. The only thing that he thought was important was the fact that uncle Moony was coming. Sighing, he wandered towards the entry hall, hoping to greet uncle Moony before he got caught up in the day's events. Moony was already in the hall talking to one of the other guests when Harry entered.

Moony had been off on a trip to India for the past year and a half, following another lead to find the cure for his lycanthropy, and Harry had missed him dearly. The defeat of Voldemort had been a great chance for Remus, for he could openly work on finding a cure for his lycanthropy. It was difficult during the war, because he was always needed to help out in some way for the resistance. Harry of course knew all about this from the stories he'd heard from his two uncles, but he didn't care, he didn't like it.

"Uncle Moony!" He called out excitedly, hoping to catch his favorite uncle's attention. Smiling, Moony turned around and swung Harry up into his arms.

"Hey there Pup, how have you been? I hope you haven't been getting into any trouble because I haven't been around to keep an eye on you."

Harry shook his head solemnly and blinked his two, big, cute green eyes, causing Remus to chuckle softly. Still smiling, he put Harry back down on the floor.

"Let's go wish your little brother happy birthday, ok Pup?" Pup was Remus' pet name for Harry, and it always had been. James and Lily had tried to convince him to call Silas cub too, but it hadn't felt right to Remus. Instead, Silas had the nickname of Pronglet, and that was good enough for James.

Harry didn't really like that idea but nodded, reaching up to grasp his uncle's hand with his own. Remus smiled down at his adopted nephew sadly, wishing he could do something that would make the boy stop being sad all the time.

The two entered the living room, where there were already many gifts piled up all around the room. Silas had many admirers, and often received many gifts on birthdays and on Christmas.

Silas was sitting in his favorite chair, playing chess with his father. James looked up when the two entered, and smiled when he saw his friend.

"Moony, old pal, nice to see you! Have you come to celebrate our wonderful son's birthday?" He asked, completely ignoring Harry. Remus noticed this right away, and stored it in his memory in case it was important.

"Was the rumor true?"

"No. It was another dead end" Remus told him, flopping down in a chair. Harry climbed up onto his lap with a picture book he'd picked up off the floor.

"Hey Pup, have you learned how to read yet"

"Uhuh, but I still like looking at the pictures" Harry said shyly and opened the book.

Silas glared at Harry, angry that his older brother was getting all the attention. He smirked inwardly as he came up with a plan that would get Harry in trouble. Lily came into the room at that moment, carrying a tray with snacks on it. Smiling, she placed it in front of Silas.

"Stop trying to be better than me, you didn't kill the Dark Lord." He said snootily. Harry just sat there, looking down at his hands.

"Yes honey, you killed the dark lord, now eat up." Remus frowned inwardly at this, not quite understanding what was going on, and not sure that he liked what he saw.

"Are you sure you should be encouraging that kind of animosity between your children?" Remus asked in surprise.

Lily blinked and looked at him, and then smiled. "Remus, what are you talking about? It's true isn't it? And Silas needs all the encouragement he can get for when Voldemort comes back." She looked fondly at the son in question before continuing. "And Silas has finally become toilet trained. I'm so proud of him!"

Remus was startled. It was almost as if she'd forgotten that Harry had become toilet trained at three and a half. Still frowning inwardly, he spoke up "Harry learned how to read." But Lily had already left the room.

Harry knew what his uncle was trying to do, and he knew that it wouldn't work. His mom and dad never cared about that kind of stuff unless it was Silas doing them. He didn't want his uncle to know how miserable he was, because that would make him mad, and then he would get mad at Mom and Dad. Then things would get even worse for Harry, and uncle Moony would have to leave. The same thing had happened to uncle Padfoot half a year ago, and Harry hadn't seen him since. Harry didn't want Moony to have to go as well, so he quickly diverted his uncle's attention to the book in his lap.

The party started two hours later, and there were lots of guests. Harry stayed near the walls while he watched everything happen. He knew he wasn't welcome. But for some reason, because uncle Moony was there, he felt obligated to try and interact with the guests. Gathering up his courage, he walked towards the nearest group of people. There were three of them. Two had red hair, and were clearly related, while the other had brown hair. He approached shyly, afraid of how they would react, but still wanting to be friends. The first one to notice him was the smaller red-head, a girl.

"Hi there, who're you? I'm Ginny, you look funny."

Harry was taken aback by her bluntness, and found that he could only stutter in reply. The older red-head took pity on him.

"Ginny, don't be mean." He berated her, before turning to Harry. "I'm Ron, and she's my little sister." Harry smiled weakly at him.

"I'm Harry. You probably know my younger brother, Silas. Everybody seems to know him."

Ron stared at him, wide eyed. "You're Silas Potter's older brother!" He exclaimed, and Harry winced. "Yeah, and he's not as great as everyone thinks he is."

It was at this moment that the other boy chose to join in the conversation. "I know. Gran says that he can be right horrible at times" He lowered his voice and continued "I've even heard her say that he can be positively _slytherin_ at times." The other three children stared at him in shock.

"No way." Ron whispered, but Harry just sighed. "Knew it." Was all Ginny said in response to the news. The other boy just shrugged. "It's just what Gran said. By the way, I'm Neville."

The party was much more enjoyable after that. The four children spent most of their time avoiding the adults and the other guests, gossiping, and playing games. Harry was having the time of his life. It all ended far too soon for his liking. Sadly, he wouldn't see his new friends again until five years later…

AN: please review, I need lots of ideas, because I have no idea what I'm going to do for this story...

I'm going to clear something up in case you have any questions. In this story, Harry doesn't have a scar, he has a small tattoo in the chape of a running wolf on his left forearm, the mark of the curse is his eyes changing from brown to green. No, Harry is not a werewolf, and the meaning of the tattoo will be revealed later. Harry will be in gryffindor, and will be best friends with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville. Silas will be in Slytherin, because he's a slimy little git. I will try to follow the story line of the books as much as I can, but I might not be able to. Sirius will come back later, but I have no idea how, or why I even had him leave. Silas is a spoiled little brat, and Lily and James are probably going to become nasty people. Remus was off looking for a cure for lycanthropy, and hasn't seen the Potters for a year and a half. Harry's most prized possession is awolf stuffy that Remus gave hims for his third birthday, and will show up later. Yes, it will have significance.If you have any other questions, Review!

-Crimson Dragongem


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Except for Silas… and I really wish I didn't… He annoys me…

Chapter 3

Sirius Black folded the paper up and put it on the coffee table in front of him. Things had been so strange the past eleven years, and he had no idea what to do about it.

He rubbed his temples, thinking. James and Lily, two of his best friends, had turned on him because he said that it was unfair to leave Harry out when they were playing with Silas. It seemed like the couple had totally forgotten the promise they had made all those years ago; to cherish and love all of their children.

There was a whooshing sound that drew his attention to the fireplace. 'I wonder who it could be, he thought idly, standing up to greet whoever was coming through. The fireplace flashed green, and a man in deep purple robes stepped out. The old man brushed off his clothes and looked up at Sirius.

"Ah, Sirius, the very person I was looking for!" He exclaimed cheerfully, eyes glittering behind moon-shaped spectacles.

"Professor Dumbledore? What are you doing here? Isn't it kind of late for social calls?"

The professor laughed. "I'm not your professor anymore, so you can just call me Albus." He moved forward and sat down in one of the chairs, acting like it was his own home.

"This is no social call. You may want to sit down, my boy." He said, and leaned forward in his chair. "I have a proposition for you."

* * *

Harry entered the dining room, wiping sleep from his eyes. He moved over to the kitchen and looked around. Silas was already there at the table eating his breakfast of bacon and eggs. Their mother, Lily, was humming a small tune and flitting around the kitchen making more food for herself and James. Harry, as usual, would have to make his own breakfast. 

The doorbell rang and there was a loud clattering noise, and the door opening. Soon the voices of uncle Moony and James could be heard approaching. The kitchen door opened and the two friends came in.

Lily turned around and smiled as they entered.

"Remus, it's wonderful to see you! We were just sitting down to breakfast, so come join us."

James pounded Remus on the back. "You've got to stay, our little wonder boy should be receiving his letter this morning," he said, grinning.

Remus was confused. "Already? He's only ten though."

"The headmaster decided that since the older one was going to Hogwarts this year, Silas should go too so that he wouldn't feel left out." Lily had a mischievous look in her eyes, and was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

There was a tapping at the window, and James opened it to let a large tawny owl in. It lifted up a leg, waiting for the man to take off the two letters that were attached. James slid the letters off and wandered over to the table. "It's here!" He told them, smiling broadly, giving Silas his and tossing the other one carelessly on the table. "Open it, Silas. Go ahead."

Harry watched as Silas opened his letter, encouraged by Lily and James. Sadly, he reached forward, picked up the letter that lay forgotten on the table, and wandered off to his room again, stopping at the window to give the owl a pat before it flew off.

Remus saw Harry go, and excused himself with the excuse that he had to go to the bathroom. Out in the hall, he saw Harry sitting on the stairs, looking down at the letter in his hands. He looked up as his surrogate uncle approached.

"Hey uncle Moony." He mumbled in greeting.

"Hey there, pup. Aren't you happy to be going?" He asked, sitting down next to the eleven year old.

Harry looked up, startled. "What? Oh, yes. Of course." He said hastily, giving a small smile, but Remus could see that the boy's heart wasn't in it. He grabbed the boy in a playful headlock and ruffled the boy's messy black hair to make it even messier.

"Hey, uncle Moony, Stop it." He said, laughing slightly.

Remus put up a finger and poked the boy on the nose.

"Alright, but you have to tell me why you're not happy."

Sighing, Harry nodded, and Remus released him from the headlock. "Alright. I'm glad to be going, but how will I buy everything? My mom and dad will be far to busy buying Silas all of his things to even spare me moments glance."

Remus sighed heavily, and suddenly had a thought. "Hey, pup. How 'bout this. I'm going to take you down to Diagon Alley, and I'll buy all your school supplies. I might even take you to visit Padfoot in his apartment there."

Harry's face glowed. "Really? You mean it? When are we going?" He asked, jumping to his feet.

Remus stood up a little slower. "We can go right now if you want."

"Yes!" Harry cheered, punching the air with his fist.

Smiling and shaking his head, Remus headed over to the kitchen. Poking his head in, he called out "I'm going now. And congratulations on your letter, Silas."

"Alright. See ya' round Moony."

"Later Prongs." Remus called back

When he returned, he saw that Harry was already standing in front of the main fireplace. "Are we going now?"

"Yup." Remus replied, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Oy, stop it Moony!"

Remus just laughed and tossed the floo powder into the flames. "Diagon Alley" he called, and disappeared with a 'whooshing' sound.

Harry grinned and fixed his hair before following.

Harry got out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron and brushed the soot off him. Remus was already there, and he started grinning again when he saw Harry. "Ready to go?"

"You betch'a" Harry said, smiling softly.

* * *

Diagon Alley was much larger than Harry remembered, but that wasn't surprising since that last time he went was when he had to get nice clothes for Silas' party five years ago. He smiled fondly, remembering the three kids he had met. I wonder if they'll be at Hogwarts with me, he mused. 

"Where to first?" Remus asked, looking down at Harry.

"Well, I suppose we should get my robes." Harry mumbled, looking down at his list of supplies.

Getting everything took much quicker than they thought it would, and they were done by noon. Remus suggested that they stick around for lunch, and then they could do some browsing and shopping just for fun. Harry agreed heartily. The longer he stayed out of the house, the better.

They were sitting down outside of Florian Fortescue's Ice cream parlor for ice cream, when a group of redheaded boys and a girl went past, being led by their mother. "Hold on" He mumbled hastily to Remus, and ran off to catch up with the large family. There was something familiar about two of them… but he couldn't quite place it.

He approached them nervously, and coughed slightly, catching their attention.

"Hello, dear. Who are you?" Asked the plump, red-headed woman. Harry assumed her to be the mother. (He was getting motherly vibes off of her. She had to be).

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter." He said, looking over the redheads.

The woman smiled. "Oh, you're Lily and James' boy. The older one, right?"

Harry was surprised. Usually when he introduced himself, people would automatically start asking him questions about Silas. "Yes, I am."

The woman's smile widened."I'm Molly Wesley, I was good friends with your mother, Lily. You're starting Hogwarts this year, correct?"

"Yes, actually, I am. How did you know?" He asked curiously

"I have a son the same age as you. Ron, would you come here?" She called, and a tall, freckled boy with red hair (obviously), came forward.

"Hey, I know you!" He exclaimed. "Aren't you the boy we met at Silas' party all those years ago? Ginny, do you remember?"

A young girl popped up out of seemingly nowhere. "Yup!" She said, smiling brightly.

"Well, we'd better be going. See you on the train Harry."

"Yeah, see you. Hey, do you remember the other boy?"

Ron frowned. "No actually… what was his name?"

"Neville" Ginny contributed.

"How did you remember? You were only four!" Ron exclaimed. Harry looked between them, feeling a bit dizzy.

"Could you guys slow down?"

The siblings looked sheepish. "Sorry."

"Ron, Ginny, Come on!" Called Mrs. Weasley's voice from down the road.

"Yes mom!" They shouted in reply, ignoring the looks they were getting from the other people.

"Well, anyways, we need to go. I'll see you later!" Ron said, and ran off down the road.

"See you!" Ginny yelled, and raced off to catch up with her siblings and mother, turning back once to wave and smile at him.

"Bye…" Harry mumbled, slightly dazed as he watched the girl go. Blinking, he shook his head and went back to where his uncle Moony was sitting.

"What was that?" The werewolf asked curiously.

A large smile slowly broke out on Harry's face. "Nothing." He said secretively, his emerald eyes twinkling wildly. Remus grinned. "Oh well. Let's head back." It looked like things just might be looking up at last…

* * *

A/N: I would like to say thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers. It's only because of the continual messages that I even wrote this chapter… oh well. Anyways. Here are some cookies! tosses cookies out to all my good little reviewers. They're chocolate chip!

Crimson Dragongem


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the little prick that is Silas… his owl Hercules, Romulus, and some of the plotline… O.O;;

* * *

Chapter 4

The morning of September the first was a cloudy one. Large, billowing clouds covered the morning sky, acting as a blanket, smothering the world in grey. Mornings like that made people lethargic, and Harry was no exception.

The first sound he heard when he woke up was Silas yelling for his mother to come find his miniature quidditch pitch. Why he needed it, Harry had no clue.

Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed and looked at the clock. It read eight thirty AM. He glared at the ceiling, wondering WHY it took his brother so long to get ready. He would be ready to go within minutes, and all his stuff was packed.

Suddenly, he thought of something. Running over to his closet, he started digging through it. A large pile of broken junk left over from Silas was in there, and buried at the bottom, was Romulus, The stuffed wolf that uncle Moony had given him for his seventh birthday. It had been a joint present from Sirius and Remus, because they all would have gotten in trouble if Sirius had given him anything.

He shook his head to dispel the memories, and hastily shoved the well worn, and well loved stuffy into the bottom of his trunk. There was a knock at his bedroom door, and He quickly shoved all the junk back into his small closet.

"Come in." He called, and turned around. Lily was standing there, holding a train ticket.

"Here." She said simply, and turned to go out the door again. She stopped for a second to say "You'd better be ready soon, we're leaving at ten." And with that, she left, letting the door slam shut behind her.

"That was strange." Harry mumbled, and lugged his trunk downstairs, leaving it in the entry hall. He looked around and saw the poor house elf, Milly, lugging Silas' luggage around. He had FIVE trunks, and Harry suspected that there were more coming.

Rolling his eyes, he went to help the house elf. Milly wasn't the youngest house elf, and had been in the family since James was a kid. Harry wondered just how old house elves could grow to be.

Milly squeaked in surprise as the large thing she was carrying suddenly lifted into the air. Peeking out from underneath the trunk, Milly's eyes widened.

"Master Harry shouldn't be working. Working is Milly's job!" She exclaimed in her squeaky voice, and Harry had to laugh.

"Alright, but I'm carrying this one. Where do you want it?"

Milly huffed, but accepted it. "It needs to go over with the other trunks." She said, pointing to the pile of trunks already there. Harry had suspected as much, but he liked being polite, especially since Silas treated Milly so horribly.

He put it down slowly. It was quite heavy. No wonder Milly had been having so much trouble with it.

Nodding to Milly, he ran off to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. He looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. He had and hour before they were leaving. Plenty of time then, he thought mildly to himself.

He ate breakfast, taking his time, and then amused himself by reading one of the books he had received from uncle Padfoot when they visited him in Diagon Alley last month. It was called 'Ten steps to becoming an Animagus'. It was Sirius' book. He had spent a lot of time on it, and had never actually published it. Harry had read it cover to cover, and was in the process of re-reading it. He new he wouldn't be able to actually transform, or even get close to transforming, until he was at least in his third year, but hey, the more he studied, the more prepared he'd be.

Soon it was ten O'clock, and the family gathered in front of the house.

James stood and checked his watch. "Okay. We're taking a rented car from the Ministry. They wanted to make sure that Silas got to the platform safely, I suspect." He told them.

Suddenly there was a flash, and a black car appeared in front of the house. Luckily they had concealment charms, or people would have wondered. Lily looked over at James questioningly.

"They portkeyed the car here." He said, and they all started the grueling task of putting all of Silas' luggage into the magically expanded trunk. Silas' eagle owl,

Hercules, started hooting madly when they moved him, which in turn made Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig (she was a gift from Remus and Sirius as well) irritated.

And so, it was after a very difficult stage of packing everyone and everything into the car, that they set off for King's Cross station.

Harry stepped through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, knowing full well what was on the other side. Knowing and seeing are different things. Before him was a bustling platform, filled with mothers saying teary farewells to their children, the children rolling their eyes, and in some cases, crying as well.

Harry turned and saw Silas come through the barrier, and immediately swamped by fans and admirers. It made Harry sick just watching it.

Shaking his head, he grabbed his trunk and Hedwig, and attempted to lift them. They were lighter than Silas', but still heavy, and he dropped the trunk painfully onto his toe. One of the redheads from Diagon Alley popped up. "Want a hand with that?"

"You don't have to-" Harry replied, but the redhead wouldn't hear of it.

"Oy, Fred, C'mere and help!" He called, and another redhead who looked identical to the one in front of Harry, appeared.

"By the way, I'm George." The first one said. "That's my twin, Fred." Fred waved, and went back to dragging the trunk onto the train. Harry followed them, looking for an empty compartment, Hedwig's cage in his arms. After a little bit of searching, he found one that suited his liking.

"This one's fine." He said, and the twins stashed the trunk in the luggage racks above the seats, and left. Looking out the window, he saw Lily sobbing and hugging Silas tightly. James was pounding Silas on the back, looking proud. Harry sighed and collapsed onto the seats. He really wished that someone would treat him that way.

The door opened, causing Harry to look up. Ron entered and walked in, sitting across from Harry.

"Hey, mate. Told you I'd see you o the train." He said, grinning.

Harry grinned back. "Yep, you did."

The door slid open again, and the eldest red-head came in. He was scowling, and looking like he'd rather do anything but carry the trunk. He stashed the trunk in the luggage rack, and left without a word.

"That's Percy. He's mad because mum made him carry my trunk. He thinks it's degrading because he's a prefect now" Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"What's that thing?" Harry asked, pointing to a small fluffy thing in Ron's arms.

"This?" He asked, picking the fluffy thing up. "This is a chinchilla. It's actually Ginny's, but she's making me take care of it for the year because she's going to Cuba with her friend, Luna." He said, scowling. He poked the chinchilla, and it didn't move. "It's pretty useless during the day though. Apparently it's nocturnal."

Harry found it hard to keep a straight face when the small fluffy thing sighed and seemed to relax suddenly. Ron noticed this and picked the chinchilla up.

"Bloody hell!" He exclaimed, looking down at his lap. "The bloody thing peed on me!"

"Maybe you should change?" Harry asked. Ron shook his head.

"No, I'm going to try out a spell that Fred and George taught me." He said, pulling out a ratty looking wand and brandishing it.

Suddenly, the door slid open and a girl entered. She had bushy brown hair, and large, brown eyes. They widened when she saw Ron's wand, and immediately sat in one of the seats.

"You're doing magic? Let's see it, then." She said happily, watching Ron intently.

Ron gulped and started waving his wand.

"Abra zebra genki zezh, make this mess clean and fresh!" There was a sizzling sound, but nothing else happened.

"I don't think that was a real spell." Harry muttered, looking sideways at the girl.

"Me either. Well, I was looking through my books and I found this useful spell." She said, and also pulled out her wand.

"Scourgify." She said simply, pointing her wand at Ron's pant leg. The wet spot immediately vanished. She stood up and opened the compartment door.

"Oh, and if you find a toad, a boy named Neville has lost his. By the way, I'm Hermione." She said, and left.

"That was strange." Harry said, still looking at the door.

"You can say that again." Ron mumbled, glaring at the chinchilla that was snacking happily on Ron's corned beef sandwich.

"I didn't know that chinchilla's ate meat." Harry whispered, staring nervously at the (apparently) carnivorous rodent.

"Me either. And why are we whispering?" Ron whispered back.

"Dunno."

A while later, the trolley lady came by. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" She asked cheerfully.

"Umm, yes please." Said Harry, remembering the money uncle Padfoot had given him for this exact purpose. Ron stared wide eyed as Harry bought some of everything.

"You want some?" Harry offered, and Ron just stared.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." He muttered, and tossed some candy at Ron. It hit him square in the face.

"Oy, what was that for?" He yelped. Harry rolled his eyes.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, and it was about half an hour before they would arrive that the door opened again, revealing Hermione and another boy.

"This is Neville." She said, "And are you SURE that you haven't seen a toad around here?" She questioned. The two boys in the compartment shook their heads, and Hermione sighed. "Oh well. You should get changed now, I expect that we'll be arriving soon."

Ron looked over at Neville. "Hey, aren't you the Neville we met at that party, ages ago?" Neville blinked.

"Party?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, my brother Silas' birthday party. Remember?"

Hermione suddenly looked interested. "Silas? As in Silas Potter?"

"Yeah." Ron mumbled.

Hermione glowed. "He's famous! I know all about him. He's in a lot of books. Oh, I expect that he'll be the top of his class!" She was almost bursting with excitement.

"He's going to be coming this year.

Hermione, Ron, and Neville all blinked.

"Wait, isn't he only ten though?" Neville questioned.

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "But mum and dad ended up getting him in early."

"Wow! I'll get to meet the famous Silas Potter!" Hermione crowed.

Harry glared off out the window. "He's not that great. I expect that he'll be in Slytherin, the nasty little prick that he is." He said the last part venomously, and Hermione blinked but didn't say anything. This wasn't what she would have expected to hear from the brother of the savior, but she passed it off as jealousy.

A few minutes later, she left, leaving the boys to get changed into their robes. And soon, they were pulling into the Hogsmead station…

* * *

A/N: Ok, thank you once again for all the encouragement. Especially my one certain crazy reviewer for all of her incessent messages badgering me to post... O.O;; . AnywaysI looked on my e-mail today, and I found it flooded with reviews. Thank you! And a contest for all of my wonderful reviewers: who can guess what the proposition was that Albus had for Sirius in the last chapter?

- Crimson Dragongem


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the dialogue or the descriptions that are from the book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". The only thing I own is Silas… and the Chinchilla…. XP

And here's a little bit of dailogue that my wonderful reviewer Alaskarae put into her last review! (I think it's quite amusing XP)

me: Hermione! you're supposed to be smart!  
11-year-old Hermione: (arrogantly) I am smart! he's just jealous. the hero of the wizarding world would never be a prick!  
Me: ...wow you're an idiot...  
Hermione: Me! how dar you think that about me! You know nothing!  
Me: ...i'm sixteen years old and have been reading this fic since chapter one...i think i know more.  
Hermione: ...good point...  
Me: (to you) POST SOON PLEASE!  
Hermione: (to you too) And please make me non-stupid!  
me: (to 'Mione) Is that even a word?

* * *

They got off the train to see an already dark sky. 

"I didn't know the ride was so long!" Ron exclaimed to Harry over the noise of the other students.

"Well, clearly, it was!" Harry replied, looking for Neville.

"Ugh, and I still have to look after this thing because it refused to go back into it's cage…" Ron muttered, pointing at the fuzzy white lump on his head that was the Chinchilla.

A sudden voice ran out "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

Harry grabbed Ron and started dragging him over to the voice. Sulking, Ron allowed himself to be pulled away. Soon they were standing before a very large man. His size was almost scary, in fact.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" He called.

Looking down, he saw Harry and Ron. "Hello there, the name's Rubeus Hagrid. But you can just call me Hagrid." The large man informed them. "Well, anyways, let's go!" He called, and slipping and stumbling, they followed him down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, who had caught up with them at some point, was holding his toad tightly so as not to lose it again.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "Jus' round this bend her."

There was a collective 'Oooooh!' From most of the students.

The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, it's windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting by in the water by the shore.

The jostling of the other students as they moved to get into the boats, ended up knocking Hermione into a pale boy with platinum blonde hair who was making snide comments about everything around him.

"Watch it, mudblood!" He snapped, and glared at her. "Didn't you learn your lesson on the train?"

Hagrid's head whipped around. "What did ya' say?" He asked the blonde boy in a menacing tone. The boy glared at Hagrid before walking away, his group of followers, well, following.

Harry noted that Silas wasn't there, and decided that his younger brother probably had an escort up to the castle.

Harry and Ron ended up in a boat with Neville and Hermione, which they were thankful for.

"Everyone in?" Shouted Hagrid, who was in a boat with the blonde kid (Probably to keep and eye on him. Harry suspected), "Right then - FORWARD!"

The little fleet of boats took off all at once, gliding smoothly over the black waters. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great building overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer to the cliff on which it stood. Well, nearly everyone. The blonde kid was saying loudly how he had been to Hogwarts many times already on business with his father. Hagrid shushed him up though, much to everyone's relief.

"Heads!" Hagrid's voice suddenly called as the first boat reached the cliff. and they all ducked as the boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They sailed through a dark tunnel, which seemed to take them right underneath the castle, until they reached an underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

They then clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They trudged over the wet grass, and up a flight of stone steps, crowding around the huge, oak doors.

"Is that everyone?" Hagrid called.

Hagrid lifted one of his huge hands, and knocked three times on the castle door. There was a loud 'BOOM' with each knock, and Harry swore that he saw the door shake.

The door swung open, as if on command, revealing a tall, stern looking woman in emerald green robes, black hair tied firmly up in a bun. Her appearance gave the new students the impression that this woman was not someone to cross.

"Firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid informed the witch in front of him.

"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She turned around, and gestured for the eleven year olds to follow her. The entrance hall was huge. That was the first thing they noticed when they walked through the door. It was the size of the Potter mansion in itself, Harry suspected. The walls were lit with flaming torches which were dancing cheerfully.

Professor McGonagall led them into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. Suddenly, a short little man came hobbling in, leading Silas. He traded a few words with Professor McGonagall, and exited the room again, leaving Silas.

Professor McGonagall nodded to Silas and turned back to the other first years. "Welcome to Hogwarts." She began, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you sit down at your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into your houses."

She proceeded to explain the four houses, and the rules.

"The sorting ceremony will begin in a few minutes, in front of your soon-to-be peers. So I would suggest you take the next few minutes to smarten yourselves up." She looked around, her eyes resting a little longer on Ron and Neville.

"I will return momentarily." She said, and left the chamber, allowing the door to close behind her.  
"What do you think the sorting is?" Neville asked nervously.

Ron leaned a little closer. "Fred and George said it hurt a lot, but I think they were just joking." Neville gulped.

They overheard one of the other first years saying to a friend that her father had told her that they would have to wrestle a troll. Harry shook his head at this – it was ludicrous!

Ron's stomach rumbled loudly, causing many of the first years to look at him, and Neville and Harry coughed to hide their laughter. It was a relief really, because it took their minds off of whatever the sorting ceremony would be.

"I'm hungry!" He said in his defense. The other first years just shook their heads and turned away. He stared down at the chinchilla in his arms. "Can I eat her?" He asked plaintively, and Hermione whacked him over the head with the palm of her hand.

"No!" She snapped. "Be patient."

Ron yelped and rubbed his head. "Woman are sure violent," He whispered so only Harry and Neville could hear. Unfortunately, it was a little bit too loud.

"I heard that!" Snapped the girl in question. Harry and Neville just stood there, laughing at their unfortunate friend.

The door suddenly swung open again, and professor McGonagall stepped through. "Form a line," She told the fidgeting students, "And follow me."

She proceeded to lead them through the entry hall, and through a set of double doors into the great hall.

The great hall was even larger, it seemed, than the entry hall. There were four long tables where the rest of the student populace were sitting, at the end of the hall, was a table sitting on a dais. That was clearly where the teachers were meant to sit.

Professor McGonagall led them up there, so that they were facing the students, teachers behind them. Harry was suddenly nervous as he looked at all the faces staring up at them.

Looking up at the ceiling, he saw that it was much like the one in Silas' room. The roof was like the night sky, velvety black and dotted with many stars. Harry could just make out the constellation of Cassiopeia.

He head Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts, a History." He blinked in surprise. He hadn't known that people even read that book. Maybe he would borrow it from the school library. He might find something interesting.

Harry looked down just in time to see professor McGonagall walk up and silently place a fore-legged stool in front of them. On top of the stool, she put a very tattered looking wizard's hat.

He overheard on of the other first years ask the girl next to her if they were going to have to pull out a rabbit. Harry and Ron snorted.

Noticing that all of the students were staring at the hat, he elbowed Ron and they both looked at it too. It was completely silent for a few seconds, and then something unexpected occurred. The hat's brim opened wide - and began to singe.

They stared, jaws dropped as the hat finally finished it's song.

"So we have to try on a hat." Neville whispered, relief evident on his face.

"I guess, but I really wish that we didn't have to try it on with all of those people watching." Harry replied, also whispering.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, a long roll of parchment held in her hands.

"When I call your name, you will come forward and try on the hat to be sorted," She explained. "Abbot, Hannah!"

A mousy girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line and up to the stool. She put on the hat, which fell right over her eyes, and sat down.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the hat, after a moment's pause.

The table on the far right cheered and clapped as Hannah went over to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the hat, and Susan ran over to sit beside Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw as well, but "Brown, Lavender" Was the first new Gryffindor. Said table exploded into cheers, and Ron rolled his eyes at Fred and George, who were catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" went to Slytherin, "Finch-Fletchly, Justin" Went to Hufflepuff, "Finnigan, Seamus" took a while, but was finally sent to Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione nearly ran to the stool, and jammed the hat hastily on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Shouted the hat, Ron groaned.

Finally it was Neville's turn.

"Good luck!" Harry muttered, and Ron echoed him.

Neville nodded and scurried up to the stool. He tripped right before he reached the stool, and had to be helped up by professor McGonagall. Blushing in embarrassment, he grabbed the hat and stuck it on his head.

The hat took much longer to decide where Neville should go, than it did for any of the other students. But finally, after some time, the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" And Neville took off the hat, running over to the Gryffindor table.

The blonde kid (who they soon found out was "Malfoy, Draco") swaggered up to the stool when his name was called. The hat hadn't even touched his head when it called out "SLYTHERIN!"

Malfoy smirked and walked over to the Slytherin table, looking quite pleased with himself.

"Moon" ..., "Nott, Theodore" …, "Parkinson, Pansy" …, a pair of twin girls, "Patil, Padma" and "Patil, Parvati" …, "Perks, Sally-Anne" …, and then finally –

"Potter, Harry!"

Harry stepped out of line, swallowing nervously. The eyes of the entire student body were upon him, and he even heard some one mutter, "Is he related to Silas Potter?"

Sighing, he sat down on the stool, and placed the hat on his head.

"Hmm," Said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Protective of your friends? Hmm… There's talent, very much so… and a thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… Also a very strong dislike of your brother… And what's this? Now THIS makes it even harder… now where to put you?"

Harry sat still, eyes closed.

'Not Slytherin, not Slytherin, not Slytherin.' He thought firmly.

"Are you sure? You could be great. No? Alright, then I'll have to put you in GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry sighed in relief and walked over to the Gryffindor table to sit beside Neville.

"Hey, where do you think Ron will go?" He asked, nudging Neville to get his attention.

Neville blinked. "I don't know, but most of his family is in Gryffindor, so I think it's safe to assume that he'll be with us."

Harry nodded and looked up at the head table. At the end, nearest to him, was… Hold on, was that PADFOOT? His eyes widened as his surrogate uncle waved at him. What on earth was he doing here?

Harry shook himself and looked over at the other teachers. There was a greasy looking man that Harry remembered was Severus Snape (he had heard many stories from Remus and Sirius, and had even met him once… it had been quite and unpleasant encounter.)

Sitting beside the greasy potions teacher, sat a man in a purple turban. He looked quite strange, Harry thought to himself. HE looked up and noticed Harry. Their eyes met, and suddenly, there was a burning feeling in his eyes, and Harry was suddenly unable to see anything.

He shook his head and his eyes cleared, and he soon found himself looking into the worried eyes of Neville.

"I'm fine." He muttered

There were only three people left to be sorted.

"Turpin, Lisa" Went to Ravenclaw, and then it was Ron's turn.

Ron looked very nervous, Harry noted.

Suddenly someone yelled "Whose that kid with the fuzzy thing on his head!" Which caused most of the school to start laughing, and Ron's ears turned red in embarrassment.

He stumbled up to the stool, and sat down. There was no reason to worry, because a second later, the hat called "GRYFFINDOR!" And Ron hurried down to sit on the other side of Harry.

"Well, done, Ron, excellent." Said Percy pompously from across the table.

Harry suddenly had a thought.

"Ron, how many brothers do you have?"

Ron blinked. "Five. Fred, George, Percy, Charlie, who is studying dragons in Romania, and Bill, who's a curse breaker for Gringotts."

"Wow… how does your mom find all the time for you?" Asked Neville, joining the conversation.

"I dunno. She just does." Ron muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Blaise, Zabini" Became a Slytherin as well.

Harry looked down at his gold plate, and felt the familiar feeling of hunger. It seemed like ages ago that he had been pigging out on the train.

Suddenly, the hall went quiet as Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. He was smiling brightly, eyes twinkling.

"Welcome!" He began. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, we have one last person to sort. Professor, if you may."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Potter, Silas!" She called. Silas strode forward, head held high, soaking in the adoration he was recieving.

The hall burst out in a flurry of whispers.

"Silas Potter? _The_ Silas Potter?... Wow, I always wanted to meet him!..." It continued like that until Silas stepped up to the stool. Harry clenched his fists. If Silas got into Gryffindor... he didn't know WHAT he'd do...

Sitting down, Silas carelessly placed the hat on his head. There was a few minutes of silence before the hat screamed out "SLYTHERIN!"

* * *

A/N: Wow am I evil or what! Who can tell me that they were honestly expecting this? (people… .you don't count if I told you…). And most people were right; Sirius IS teaching something… just not DADA. You can have your cookies anyways! - Now the question is; what will he be teaching? It's not one of the subjects already there, so you'll have to be creative… I gave you a major hint last chapter… Also, I need suggestions on good names for the chinchilla... gotta sound like something Ginny would call it though.XP. It's an omnivor! (meaning it eats both meat AND vegetables) 

- Crimson Dragongem


	6. Chapter 6

AR (AlaskaRae3): Say it.  
CD (Crimson Dragongem) : No.  
AR: Say it.  
CD: No.  
AR: Come on, you have to.  
CD: NO!  
AR: -sigh- ok… SAY IT OR I BASH YOUR HEAD IN WITH A MARSHMALLOW!  
CD: … fine… -sniffles- I… Don't… Own… MUSHROOMS! -sobs and runs off-  
AR: -glares- that's not it! -runs after CD- GET BACK HERE, YOU! -runs off-  
Harry: CD owns nothing…  
Neville: And for that we are truly thankful -twitch-  
Ginny: HARRY! -runs towards Harry-  
Harry: ACK! GOTTA GO! -vanishes-  
Ginny: -pouts- he ran away from me! -sniffles and vanishes-  
Neville: O.O;; -vanishes-

* * *

Chapter 6 

The silence was deafening. Every set of eyes in the great hall were opened wide in shock, a stunned look on their faces, (except for Harry, Uncle Padfoot, Ron, and Neville – who had expected it).

'Mom and dad are going to flip', Harry thought to himself, staring down at his plate. He really wondered what their reactions would be, but he wouldn't want to be there when it happened. They would probably blame him, of course, seeing as he usually got the blame if anything went wrong.

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat, having finally collected himself.

"Mr. Potter, would you please go to your table." He said, gesturing for the boy in question to get going. Silas nodded mutely, and headed down to the Slytherin table. He was clearly just as shocked as everyone else, and had no idea how to handle the situation.

The other Slytherins moved over as the young hero (or so they thought) approached. Most of the senior students were clearly displeased, and a few of them had clear bafflement on their faces. Harry could honestly say that he was glad Silas was in Slytherin - It let the rest of the world show that their 'hero' wasn't as great as they thought her was.

Once Silas was seated, Dumbledore spoke again.

"And now, without further ado, we may start our feast." He said, eyes seemingly void of the usual twinkle. "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He said cheerfully and sat back down. The room suddenly became a din of chatting, gossiping, and general noise, but the bright, welcoming feeling from before seemed to have totally vanished.

"Is he – a bit mad?" Asked the uncertain voice of Hermione, from across the table.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes."

Hermione made an indignant sound. "Well I already knew he was a genius!" She huffed, and started filling her plate. She didn't seem to realize that the food had just appeared out of nowhere. If she did notice, it clearly didn't faze her at all.

Harry, on the other hand, was staring down at the wide array of food, hungrily. It wasn't often that he was allowed to partake in any of the family dinner parties or banquets, but when he did, it was always amazing. The foods here were above and beyond any of those that Lily had ever cooked (she had refused to let Milly do any of the cooking, saying that she wanted to at least keep SOME of her muggle background).

Lily and James had never actually starved Harry, but they had let him fend for himself once her hit the age of four. Even then it was difficult, and he never got to eat anything miraculous. So now he was going to make the most of it. He took a little bit of everything, and began to eat. It was delicious.

All of a sudden, a white head popped through the table. "Hello there!" It exclaimed jovially.

"Hello, Sir Nicholas. Good to see you again." Greeted Percy, nodding to the ghost. The ghost merely sighed and floated over a few feet to talk to one of the older students.

"Who was that?" Harry asked, curious.

Ron looked over at Harry and shrugged. "I heard that he's a ghost called 'Nearly Headless Nick'. Not really sure though." He stated, although it was kind of muffled because his mouth was full

"Don't speak with your mouth full!" Hermione snapped, before turning to the ghost again. "_Nearly_ Headless? How can you be _nearly_ headless?"

The ghost looked irritated. "Like this" He said. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces (although Neville looked a bit green); Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back on to his neck, coughed and said, "So – New Gryffindors! I hope you're going to win the house championship this year? Gryffindor have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the house cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's become almost unbearable – he's the Slytherin ghost."

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table, and saw a horrible ghost that seemed to have been stained with silver blood, with blank staring eyes, and a gaunt face. He was sitting beside Silas, who didn't seem very keen with the seating arrangements.

"How did he get covered in blood?" Asked one of the other first years, and Harry remembered that his name was Seamus.

"I've never asked," Said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.

Suddenly there was a yelp, and a bunch of high pitched squeaks. Harry blinked. Ron was holding the chinchilla by the tail, and was dangling it in front of his face. He was muttering to himself angrily.

"What happened?" Neville asked, and Ron scowled.

"The stupid thing ate my chicken!" He snarled, shaking the chinchilla. Neville was confused.

"Aren't chinchillas supposed to be herbivores?" He queried.

"They're s_upposed_ to be." He muttered, "But this one's weird. He's not even mine!"

Harry sighed, feeling a bit sorry for the little rodent. The subject turned onto a much less interesting subject and he focused on eating the dinner he had in front of him.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates leaving them as sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. There were more than Harry could count, and he could just imagine what his sweet-toothed brother was doing at the moment. He probably was sitting there, bug-eyed and staring, unable to choose which one to pig out on first. Harry had to laugh at the thought.

As Harry started on his first pudding, the talk turned to families.

"I'm half and half," Seamus informed them. "Me dad's a muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch until after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

The others laughed.

"What about you, Neville?" Ron questioned, curious.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," Said Neville, "but my family mostly thought I'd end up a squib. My great uncle Algie kept trying to force the magic out of me by scaring me - he even pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned. But nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came 'round for tea and he decided that he needed to light a cigar. He tried to use his wand, but he missed and started a fire. It ended up burning down a good portion of the house, and I was stuck in the burning section, upstairs. I ended up blowing the fire out, somehow. They were so happy – not only could I use magic, but I was alive too. Gran was so pleased, she bought me an owl."

Harry blinked. It was quite a story. It reminded him of his first time using magic.

Across the table, Hermione was in deep discussion with Percy about lessons. She seemed quite fascinated about everything to do with magic, and was speaking quite quickly. Harry quickly tuned out of their conversation because he was beginning to feel a bit dizzy.

Harry was beginning to feel a bit sleepy, and it was clear that Neville and Ron were also getting drowsy. He looked up at the high table again. Uncle Padfoot was playing with some small, strange looking contraption. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. The man in the purple turban was talking to Snape.

It happened very again. The man in the turban turned, staring straight into Harry's eyes - and a sharp, hot pain shot through Harry's eyes. It blinded him, like before, but this time it lasted longer. A few moments passed, and then his vision cleared, and the pain vanished.

"Are you alright?" Asked Neville clearly concerned.

"Yeah, it's nothing." He muttered, rubbing his eyes. Neville didn't look convinced, but let it go.

"Who's that teacher talking to professor Snape?" He asked Percy.

"Snape? You know him?" Percy asked in surprise.

Harry shrugged. "Know? Yes. Like? Not really…"

Ron and Neville laughed, but Hermione instantly started scolding him.

"You shouldn't talk that way about teachers!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Anyways, who's the guy with the turban?"

"That's Professor Quirrell. He's the defense against the dark arts teacher. Everyone knows that Snape wants the job, though. He knows a lot about the dark arts."

Harry nodded and watched the two teachers, but neither of them looked his way again.

At last, the desserts were cleared from the table, and Dumbledore stood once again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words before we go off to bed. I have a few start of term announcements to give you.

"First years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that too."

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again, and it was almost as if Silas had been forgotten – at least for the moment. His eyes flashed over to the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used in the halls or between classes.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"We have one more teacher to welcome to the staff, and that is Professor Black. He will be teaching the senior students a new class on animagus transformation, as well as a dueling class for the other years. I hope you make him feel welcome." Sirius stood up and waved.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.

There was a sudden, uncomfortable silence.

"He's not serious?" He muttered to Ron.

"Must be," Percy told him from across the table, "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think that he might have told us prefects at least."

"And now, it's off to bed with the lot of you!" Dumbledore said, smiling cheerily. "Please follow your prefects to your common room. Mr. Potter, please stay behind."

Harry turned and saw that the headmaster was talking in hushed tones to Silas. He rolled his eyes. He was probably going to be getting special accommodations because he didn't want to be in the Slytherin dorms, and because he felt that he was above sharing bedrooms with other people.

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like marshmallows, and he moved along sluggishly. He hardly noticed as they passed through the great number of hallways. He was just beginning to wonder how much farther they had to go, when they came to a stop in front of a large painting of a lady. She was quite fat, and was wearing a pink silk dress.

"Password?" She asked.

"Caput Draconis," Said Percy. The lady nodded, and the portrait swung out, revealing a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through – and found themselves in a cozy room, decorated in reds and golds. On one side was a crackling fire, which cast a warm glow around the room. There were comfortable looking armchairs littered all about the room.

Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase – they were in one of the towers – they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep-red velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.

"Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get _off_, Fuzz brain! My face is not your bed!"

Harry was going to ask something, but fell asleep before he could finish the thought. It was the start of an interesting year….

A/N: Thank you, once again, for all of your wonderful reviews. I was busy all week, and that's why it took so long to get this chapter written. It's not even a long chapter, either! -cries- oh well. Anyways, I'm still looking for a name for the chinchilla. I can't very well call it fuzz butt, fuzz brain, etc. It needs a name. And there, I finally told you what Sirius is teaching, happy? (stares pointedly at A). Well, please review!

- Crimson Dragongem


	7. Chapter 7

Oh my Goodness! I'm so sorry! I've been so busy with start of the semester that I haven't had ANY time to update! –sobs-

Anyways, I'm here now, and I'm writing the next chapter, and I hope that I can get chapter 8 posted before Christmas!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that comes from the Harry Potter Books. They belong solely to J. K. Rowling, although it would be cool to own the most popular book in the world, currently…

Chapter 7

Breakfast the next morning could not be labeled as anything less than hell. The morning had started off bad, with Harry discovering that Ron's chinchilla had gnawed right through his socks, and Neville had lost his toad, Trevor for the fifth time since they had met him.

Now the trio, plus Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table, wondering why Silas was sitting at the head table. It soon became clear though when Dumbledore stood up, getting the attention of every student in the hall.

"Ahem." He began. "Last night, there was a mistake in where Mr. Potter her was sorted. Today, we must set it to rights."

Harry looked at Ron, exasperated. "Why is it that people refuse to believe that their 'savior' is a nasty guy?" He asked, moaning in annoyance.

Dumbledore started to speak again. "And so, upon further conversation with the hat, we have finally decided that Silas could never fully integrate into the houses, and will instead be residing in private quarters, and will sit at the head table. He will be taking classes with the Gryffindors."

And so, that was why the morning had started out being so utterly horrendous. The second event was when they started classes. First block was Potions with the Slytherins.

The Gryffindor first years filed out of the hall, quickly grouping around Silas when he followed after them. It continued in that way until they reached the dungeons.

The door slammed open, and Professor Snape swept into the room, his robes billowing behind him. He reached his desk, and whirled, staring coldly down at the seated first years. Harry in particular felt his gaze, and he flinched. The man hated him insanely.

"I hope you all know what this class is." He drawled. "I do not condone mistakes, accidents, or tardiness." His black eyes scanned the room. "Although some of you will never achieve the discipline required to master the fine art of potion making, I can tell that a few of you will be adequate." His eyes paused momentarily on the blonde boy, Draco Malfoy.

"For those of you that will, I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, or even... put a stopper in death." His eyes darted to Silas who sat at the back of the class.

"Tell me. Where would I find a bezoar?"

Silas quivered visibly.

Hermione would have shot her hand into the air if Harry had not stopped her, whispering into her ear that he was putting Silas in his spot.

"I don't know." Silas said finally, acting obnoxious, as usual.

"Then tell me the difference between Aconite and Wolfs Bane."

Silas snorted. "That's easy. Their leaves are different."

At Harry's side, Hermione looked scandalized. It was as If she couldn't believe that anyone would not know.

Snape stared penetratingly at Silas. "For you information, a bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat, and will cure most poisons. Wolfs Bane and Aconite are the same plant that also goes by the name of Monkshood."

Silas' smirk diminished, and he looked angrier now than full of himself.

Snape glared at the rest of the class. "Now WHY aren't you copying that down?" He demanded harshly. The class then became as busy as bees, getting out quills and ink, writing down what they had just been told.

Transfiguration was just as bad. Ron and Harry got lost on the way back from the bathroom, and were soundly told off by Professor McGonagall.

Lunch was a solemn affair, and the four of them stayed quiet for the most part. The only major event was when Ron commented that Professor Flitwick's clothes were tacky. Hermione had responded by beating Ron upside the head with her Charms textbook before marching off in a huff.

Neville and Harry looked down at Ron. "She's got you whipped, mate." Harry commented, Neville nodding in agreement.

Charms was the first block on Monday, and they arrived to find Hermione already in the class, flipping through a textbook. As Harry sat down next to her, she pushed the book in front of him, pointing to a section on the page.

"You know how you were telling us about how you find out your animagus forms?" She said, jabbing the title on the page. "This is it. You say the spell while sitting inside this protective circle," She pointed to a circle with runes marking out five different places on the edge of the circle. "You then say 'Anima Revelaire' and you can discover your animagus form!"

Harry looked up at his excited friend. "How did you find this in only a week?" He asked her, blinking.She grinned.

"I just worked hard." She stated, snapping the book closed and storing it in her bag."We'll do it tonight in the common room." She stated. "We have everything needed." Her face was practically glowing. Harry sighed. "Ron, Neville?"

The two boys in question shrugged. "No problem here." They answered.

Hermione grinned. "Alright then!" She said brightly.

Just then the class started, and they had to focus on saying the incantation correctly for the levitating charm. It was only first block, and they had a long day ahead of them.

AN: Ok, I don't quite remember what everyone asked in the reviews, and I don't know if I answered them all. I tried to, but it was a bit difficult. Also, I would like to say that this chappie would have been a lot longer had I not been stupid and written three pages worth of something else.

- Crimson Dragongem


	8. Chapter 8

OMG OMG OMG!!! It's MEEEEE. -cough- Er, sorry about the wait… first you see there was my goal of getting 100 reviews before updating… and then there were exams… and then summer came… and then I was busy… Well, here is chapter 8 of Lost in Between. Fortunately it was half written months ago!

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Needless to say, the day inched along like a snail. To the four Gryffindors, it seemed to take even longer. It was difficult to act normal with the prospect of becoming an animagus hovering above their heads.

They suffered through the drone of professor Binns' lectures, and McGonagall's stern instruction. Potions was the worst though, as usual. Snape seemed to have turned his attentions on the older of the two Potter children. That of course, didn't mean that he stopped tormenting Silas, in fact, he seemed to loathe Silas more than he hated Harry, or Sirius even.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of potions, freeing them from Snape's leering gaze.

Harry waded through the mass of students, making his way over to Hermione, Neville, and Ron.

"Hermione, what do we have next?" He asked, trying to get a look at the schedule. His eyes widened.

"It looks like…" Hermione paled as she read it, hand shaking slightly.

Ron looked at her curiously. "What?"

She swallowed, steadying her hands. "We have our first flying lesson," She said softly. Ron let out a whoop of joy, attracting a few stares. Harry winced.

"You know, you could be a little quieter."

"Sorry, Harry," He apologized, without really meaning it, "but flying it the best part of being a wizard." Hermione didn't look like she agreed with that statement.

As they headed out onto the lawn, they noticed that Hermione still wasn't quite convinced.

"Come on, 'Mione! It'll be fun!" Ron encouraged her, almost seeming to bounce as he walked.

Hermione didn't say anything for a moment, "I'm afraid of heights," She squeaked quietly.

Harry patted her on the back. "You'll be fine, just tell Madam Hooch. I'm sure she'll let you sit it out."

Hermione shook her head frantically, "No! I have to do this!"

Harry shrugged, and said no more on the subject.

"Now, step up next to your brooms!" Commanded the intimidating yet short woman, who was Madam Hooch. The class obeyed, and it was clear that many of them were just as excited to fly as Harry was. Harry had never truly had a chance to fly, seeing as his parents spent most of their money on giving Silas private lessons. They had been determined to get Silas on the team as soon as he hit second year.

Looking around, he saw that they were yet again having this class with the Slytherins, just like in most of their classes. Strange that.

Hermione was biting her nails in obvious fear, and he felt a wave of admiration for her. She was going to try, even if it scared her.

Neville looked worried, almost as if he were recalling some past event, ignorant to Ron's excited babbling next to him. Harry himself had to admit that he felt a bit nervous.

Silas, on the other hand, was boasting loudly at how he'd been flying since he was small. It was like someone was playing two broken records at the same time. Yes, two. Malfoy was also taking great efforts to out do the supposed Golden Boy.

Madam Hooch's whistle brought their attention back to her.

"Now, put your hand over the broom, and say 'Up!'" She commanded. Immediately, the class did so. Harry and a few others got it on their first try. Grinning proudly, he turned his head to see how his friends were doing. Neville, surprisingly enough, got the broom on its third try. Hermione and Ron didn't seem to be having as much luck though.

Hermione's fear of heights made her tone sound unconvincing, and all the broom did was rolls around on the ground from side to side. Brooms, like horses and dogs, seemed to be able to sense fear.

Ron's, on the other hand, refused to move, until finally Ron lost his temper. Upon one final 'Up, you chunk of firewood!' the broom's wooden end flew upwards, thwacking the unfortunate red head in the nose.

Five minutes later, the last few people had finally managed to get their brooms up off the ground.

"Now, I want you to grab your brooms firmly, and mount it. Then, when I blow my whistle, you are to push off gently from the ground, before leaning forward, and touching down once more. Got it?" Madam Hooch barked, walking back and forth between the two lines.

The students complied, but just as she was about to raise the whistle to her lips, Silas pushed off from the ground. Showing off, of course, he started flying above the group, ignoring Madam Hooch's furious demands that he come down. Suddenly, a rock came out of nowhere, and hit the broom's tail end. The force was enough to make the broom jerk dangerously. Silas, who had been smirking lazily, was thrown off.

There was a horrendous crack as Silas' body came in contact with the ground, seven feet from where his broom had been. Harry heard himself, along with the rest of the class, gasp in shock.

Madam Hooch swept into action. She knelt down beside the unconscious boy, and started prodding at him with her wand. She sighed, and stood up, barking orders once more.

"Miss Brown, help me carry him up to the hospital wind, and you lot-" She glared piercingly at the rest of the class, "keep your feet firmly on the ground, or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'!" With that, she strode away towards the front doors, Lavender Brown hurrying after her.

There was a shocked silence, no one daring to move. Then a very familiar snicker broke through the empty air.

"Looks like the Golden Boy isn't as great as they say he is. Look, he's even dropped his purse!" He smirked, holding up a leather shoulder pouch. The other Slytherins guffawed, while the Gryffindor's started to protest loudly. Harry on the other hand, was staring with wide eyes at the bag Malfoy was holing.

"Oh, crap," he whispered, and his friends looked at him curiously. "That," he jerked his head towards the bag, "has our grandfather's philosopher's stone."

The others stared at him, eyes wide.

"Philosopher's stone…?" Asked Neville, saying what the others clearly were dying to ask.

"Yeah, it can create the elixir of life… but why does Silas have it?" He wondered, before scowling harshly. "Oh yes, the same way he gets everything else. He stole it."

Hermione gasped. "Harry!" she scolded, sounding scandalized, "don't you think that's a little extreme?"

Harry shook his head. "Not at all. Dad once caught him playing with one of the family's heirlooms when he was seven. He's always pilfering things."

Their attention was drawn back to Malfoy, who had mounted his broom, and was flying circles above the group.

"Crap." Was all Harry said, before following the blond boy.

"Harry!" Neville warned, looking afraid, "You'll get yourself expelled!"

Harry ignored him, and rose up until he was at the same height as Malfoy.

"Oh look, the OTHER Potty is here," he taunted, "Come to defend your precious brother's honour?"

"Not at all, but I think you should give that back."

Malfoy's smirk only seemed to broaden a tiny bit. "I think I won't. But, if you want it so badly, why don't we play a game. How about I put it on the roof?"

Harry gritted his teeth, and leaned forward, shooting towards the Malfoy heir.

Malfoy's eyes widened at the sudden move, and he turned the broom as fast as he could, shooting away through the air. Harry gave chase instantly.

They played a game of aerial tag, Harry chasing, Malfoy dodging. The sneering boy eventually got tired of the foolishness, and stopped, Harry doing the same a few meters away.

"How about we try something else," he sneered, and chucked the bag as hard as he could.

Harry gritted his teeth and shot after it, intent on catching it before it hit the wall, where it would undoubtedly shatter.

He lay along the broom handle, streamlining himself, willing to go faster. Some god must have granted his wish, for he sped up, heading directly at the stone wall of the school. He wasn't paying attention though; instead staring up at the leather bag witch was hurtling towards him now. Reaching his hand up, he grasped the cord. He sighed in relief.

Suddenly he noticed the wall fast approaching, and his eyes widened in fear. Terror gripping him, he jerked at the broom handle, trying to stop it, or at least slow it down. It showed no signs of slowing, and he closed his eyes, preparing for impact. It never came.

Carefully, he opened one eye, and then the other. The broom had stopped mere centimeters away from the wall.

Harry took a deep breath of relief, and started to glide down to the ground. The entire class, except for the Slytherins (which actually made up half the class), ran to meet him. Hermione, Ron and Neville, were at the head of the pack.

Before anyone could say anything, a sharp voice rang through the air. "Mr. Potter!"

Dread filled him, and he turned to see Professor McGonagall striding towards him.

"Never – in all my time at Hogwarts-"

The stern woman was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "How dare you – might have broken your neck-"

The other instantly started defending him.

"It wasn't his fault, Professor-"

"Quiet, Miss Patil-"

"But Malfoy, he-"

"That's _enough_ Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me."

Harry nodded meekly, and followed. Glancing back, he felt a wave of fury wash through him as he saw Malfoy's triumphant smirk.

That git's no better than Silas, he snarled inwardly.

Professor McGonagall led Harry through the halls, not saying a word. The dread that sat in his chest grew every second that passed. Eventually, they came to a stop outside the Charms classroom, where Professor McGonagall knocked on the door. Not a moment later, the door swung open, and Professor Flitwick stood there looking up at them.

"Yes? How may I help you Professor?"

"May I borrow Wood?"

For one horrible second, Harry thought that Wood was some kind of bat or stick that she would use to beat him. His fears were quickly put to rest when a tall teen with short brown hair stepped out into the hall.

"Yes Professor? You wanted to see me?"

Professor McGonagall's demeanor changed from cold and terrifying to overflowing with pride and ill concealed excitement.

"I believe I have found you a seeker."

The teen's eyes widened and he looked Harry up and down, walking around behind him, inspecting him. "He's got the right build," he muttered, before glancing back up at Professor McGonagall.

"This is Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team," she paused momentarily as she noticed Wood's questioning gaze. "Ah, sorry Mr. Wood, what is it?"

"It's nothing, I was just wondering how he is in the air."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, apparently annoyed. "Do you not trust my judgment?"

Oliver waved his hands defensively "Oh no Professor, nothing like that!"

The Professor nodded curtly. "Never, in all my time at Hogwarts have I seen such natural talent on a broom. He could give Charlie Weasley a run for his money."

Wood looked pensive for a moment. "Alright. You…" he paused, realizing that he hadn't yet been told the name of his future seeker.

"This is Mr. Harry Potter."

Harry glanced between the two of them, not quite understanding what the fleeting look of puzzlement that passed over the older boy's face. He passed it off as a trick of the light though.

"Alright, Potter, I expect to see you tomorrow night after dinner, just for a quick assessment to see how much you know. Then, in a week's time, we'll introduce you officially to the rest of the team."

Just then, the bell rang, and the students started to file out of the classrooms, heading towards the Great Hall.

'Oh yeah,' he recalled, 'it's lunch time now, isn't it?'

He waded through the mass of bodies, pushing his was towards the Gryffindor table. Not long after, Hermione, Neville and Ron pushed their way through the crowd to join him.

"Bloody hell mate, what was that all about? Were you expelled or something?" Ron demanded, blunt as ever. He was rewarded with and elbow in the ribs from Hermione.

"No, I wasn't expelled, amazingly enough. Here's what happened…" And he proceeded to explain the whole ordeal and conversation he had been present for. To say the least, his friends were speechless.

Someone must have pressed the fast forward button on the remote control of life. The rest of the day sped past in a flash, and soon night had fallen. Harry, Ron, and Neville were sitting up in their dorm, waiting for the other two people in their dorm to fall asleep before sneaking downstairs. Neville went first, followed by Harry, and then Ron bringing up the rear. They peeked around the corner of the stairwell, looking into the common room.

It was void of life, except for the figure of a bushy haired witch sitting with a book open in her lap. She was sitting cross legged on the carpet in front of the dying fire.

"Hermione!" Neville called in a whiper. The young witch looked up, and beckoned for them to come join her. They did, flopping down noiselessly onto the soft carpet.

"Hey, 'Mione, can I take a look at that spell?" Harry asked, pointing to the Anima Revelaire spell which was the page the book had been opened to. Hermione nodded wordlessly, and the black haired boy scanned the pages. His eyes widened. With this method, they would be able to start on the basics of the transformation by Christmas! Not like the other one which took years to discover one's form.

Ron cleared his throat impatiently, and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, I get it!" She hissed, snatching the book back from Harry. "It goes like this," She stated, taking out her wand. With a sharp jerk, she arced her wand through the air, and doing a slight twisting motion of her wrist, she pointed her wand at her chest, whispering the spell. There was a gentle glow which seemed to flow from her chest, sticking to the tip of the wand. Then, she quickly tapped it on the ground in front of her. The glow seemed to swirl and glow, before the form of small, white bird.

"I've been practicing ever since I found the spell. I couldn't see what it was clearly for a little while, but I think it's a dove." She mumbled, half to herself. The others nodded.

"Well, alright, I'll try next," Ron claimed, and Hermione proceeded to teach him the wand movements. Harry sighed. It looked like it was going to be a long night…

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A/N: Ok, well, you have the right to yell at me... v.v although it would make this authoress very sad indeed! Oh yeah, one of my reviewers requested that I inform everyone that Chinchillas are NOT carnivores, are nocturnal, and are very delicate creatures. I would also like to say that if you DO plan on getting one, keep it warm, as they are NOT acclimated to all temperatures... I'm no expert, but I know for a fact that most of the stuff this little guy does is not normal, so don't rely on meeee!

Anyways, all you loyal readers who have suffered through my lack of writing, please read and review! No flames though, as I will only use them to roast marshmallows.

- Crimson Dragongem


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